MARCH 5, 2014

Ecclestone not ruling out engine rules tweaks

Bernie Ecclestone is not ruling out tweaking F1's radical new engine regulations.

The sport's chief executive is unashamedly no fan of the new turbo V6 era, having fought hard against replacing the screaming naturally-aspirated engines with the muted but 'greener' power units of the future.

"We have got the new engines. I don't like them," he told journalist Christian Sylt, editor of the F1 trade guide Formula Money.

"Maybe we can up the fuel restrictions and they can rev higher. We will have to wait and see," said Ecclestone.

Making clear he is not simply opposed to any change, the 83-year-old insisted he doesn't even mind the look of the questionably-aesthetic new noses.

"You get used to the looks," he said. "Whenever there's a change people say I don't like it. Don't think you're going to get used to no noise though."

Like the noses, Ecclestone also doesn't mind that the run of dominance enjoyed by Red Bull seems to be over.

"Many fans want to see Vettel lose now," he told Germany's Bild newspaper. "After all, they won the championship not once but for four years.

"But I've never seen the point in changing the engines to save energy," Ecclestone insisted. "That's something you can do in street cars, but not in formula one.

"We need to be loud and fast," the Briton added, "and one thing is certain: this whole thing has cost a giant mountain of money."

Meanwhile, Ecclestone claims he could have avoided the criminal trial in Munich, which is set to start in April and could end his long reign over F1.

"I could have stopped it with money," he said, "but I didn't pay. Now I hope for the best."